NEW DELHI: Aiming to attarct more international tourists during summer and at the same time decongest the overcrowded hill stations in the country, the Ministry of Tourism is all set to launch a social media campaign—‘Cool Summer of India’.
With this, the Ministry is seeking to promote the country as an all season tourist destination.
The ministry in consultation with the state governments and union territory (UT) administrations has picked about 50 destinations. These destinations will be featured on various digital platforms, the Incredible India portal under the first phase of the campaign.
During the promotional exercise, efforts will be made to ensure that more tourists visit the suggested cities during May and June; months during which a large part of the country reels under severe heat waves.
The ministry is also said to engage embassies in the social media campaign so that tour operators from major markets are covered.
“The objective is to challenge the notion that India is hot during summer; not an ideal destination to visit during the season, especially in May and June. The list of destinations to be promoted under the campaign includes many off-beat and lesser known locations and cities where the weather is cool and pleasant while a major part of the country experiences heatwave,” said officials.
The campaign will also extensively be showcased at Arabian Travel Market in Dubai starting next week.
The ministry has created a micro site of the campaign comprising interactivities, graphics and games through which the users may read about destinations and choose.
“The destinations to be promoted as part of the campaign have been selected based on an assessment of the state governments and UTs, which are known for their unique cuisines and crafts and have a history behind them. This will help states to divert influx of tourists to other or less-frequented destinations and control tourist flow in regular locations such as Manali, Mussoorie, Nainital and Shimla. The cities come to a halt during summer months because of traffic snarls as tourists from across states and UTs throng the towns,” officials added.
The campaign will focus on tourist arrivals from countries in middle-east. The campaign will also benefit small and lesser known cities, which have good infrastructure, economically.
“Even on weekends in many places, occupancy in hotels and guest houses is just 50 percent,” said officials.